The present disclosure relates to environmental control systems. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a water extractor for an environmental control system.
Environmental control systems in aircraft condition air for delivery to an aircraft cabin. Conditioned air is air at a temperature, pressure, and humidity desirable for aircraft passenger comfort and safety. At or near ground level, the ambient air temperature and/or humidity is often sufficiently high that the air must be cooled as part of the conditioning process before being delivered to the aircraft cabin. At flight altitude, ambient air is often far cooler than desired, but at such a low pressure that it must be compressed to an acceptable pressure as part of the conditioning process. Compressing ambient air at flight altitude heats the resulting pressurized air sufficiently that it must be cooled, even if the initial ambient air temperature is very low. Thus, under most conditions, heat must be removed from air by the environmental control system before the air is delivered to the aircraft cabin.
Environmental control systems can include cabin air compressors to compress ambient air for use in the environmental control system. Further, air cycle machines can be included to condition the air. Air cycle machines typically include a compressor to compress the air and at least one turbine to expand the compressed air. As the air is conditioned in the environmental control system, it will flow through heat exchangers and condensers to be cooled. The air flowing through the environmental control system can accumulate water during the conditioning of the air. A water extractor is included in the environmental control system to extract water from the air.